Give the Gift of Healthy Food this Holiday Season

In this article:

• Giving healthy gifts can show loved ones how much you care about them, while receiving healthy gifts can get you closer to your goals.
• Healthy food, kitchen gadgets, and time together can all support healthy eating.
• These healthy gift ideas can fit into any budget and help make the holidays more fulfilling.
• Lark can support your goals and help you stay motivated as you make progress towards your health and weight loss goals with or without GLP-1s.
  

While any gift can be a welcome gesture of appreciation and love, healthy gifts go a step further. They show that you care about the person’s health and well-being. Here are several ideas that make healthy eating easier and more fun. They are budget-friendly gifts that can support physical and mental health.

Healthy Foods and Ingredients

A healthy food gift is an easy way to encourage clean eating. When healthy foods are in your hands, you’re more likely to eat them. From ready-to-eat meals to obscure ingredients, healthy foods can be exciting gifts for anyone.

Here are some ideas.

• A basic set of spices for a beginning chef, with jars of spices like cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, oregano, thyme, cumin, nutmeg, and cloves
• Gourmet ingredients like dried mushrooms, truffle oil, or artisan hot sauce
• Ready-to-cook dishes like bean soup or whole-grain pancake mix in a jar
• Nut butter sampler
• Natural fish, soy, or turkey jerky
  

Gift Baskets

Gift baskets let you mix foods and other items like recipes and mugs. Purchase healthy gift baskets or create your own for a completely customized gift.

Here are some ideas.

• Snack baskets with whole-grain crackers, mixed nuts, natural peanut or almond butter, shelf-stable hard cheese, a charcuterie board, a cheese slicer, and a knife for spreading
• Fruit and nut baskets with seasonal fruits like pears, apples, clementines, and persimmons; nuts or peanuts, nut or peanut butter
• A tea gift basket with tea bags or canisters of loose-leaf tea, 1-2 mugs, an explanation of the assortment of teas you selected
• A soup gift basket with dried beans, peas or lentils, low-sodium bouillon, dried barley or wild rice, recipes for making soup, a soup bowl with the recipient’s name on it

Many one-time or subscription baskets are available with options like fresh fruit, barbecue rub varieties, and nuts.

Healthy Cookbook or Recipes

While many recipes are available online, physical cookbooks are still valuable. You may be more likely to make a healthy recipe if it’s in a book on your shelf compared to if you need to find it online. You can also use your cookbook to take notes on how the recipe turned out, whether you made substitutions, and when you tried the recipe.

Here are some things you can look for in a cookbook.

• Useful themes of recipes like vegetable recipes, grilling recipes, low-carb recipes, healthy swaps for comfort food, or ethnic-inspired cuisine
• Any necessary practical information like prep time,
• An appropriate level of difficulty for the chef’s abilities and experience
  

Recipe Collection

A recipe collection is like a cookbook, but it’s your own creation. Compile healthy recipes you’ve tried and loved from various sources like magazines, newspapers, or digital sources. Then give them as a gift.

Here are some options.

• Paste them into a scrapbook
• Write or print them on note cards and present them on a ring or in a box wrapped in a ribbon
• Print them from the computer

You can annotate the recipes to further personalize the gift with notes about where you got it from, when you prepared it, or whom you ate it with.

Kitchen Gadgets for Food Prep

Some items can make healthy eating easier. A cutting board, knife set, pots and pans, and measuring cups and spoons can be gifts for beginner chefs. A muffin tin can support healthy breakfasts like egg muffin cups, while cute containers with leakproof lids can encourage someone to take healthy lunches instead of eating out.

Here are some other gadgets and tools that can make good gifts.

• Garlic press for fresher flavors
• Lemon or lime juicer to add brightness to dishes and salad dressings
• Mandolin for slicing vegetables effortlessly
• Grater for vegetables and cheese
• Spiralizer to make low-carb zucchini noodles
• Reusable produce bags to make produce last longer
• Oil mister for lighter dressings and low-fat cooking without chemicals in cooking spray
• Spice rack to encourage low-sodium cooking
• Water infusion pitcher to make fruit or herb-infused water
• Oven mitts to safely handle hot baking pans
  

Kitchen Appliances

Countertop appliances can be gift-worthy under the right circumstances. They could encourage healthier eating, for example, as in the case of an air fryer. A blender or food processor can make it easier to prepare vegetables, while a smoothie maker might be the right choice for someone who has trouble eating fruits and vegetables.

Some countertop appliances can be good gifts for yourself. For example, an upscale countertop coffee maker can save you time and money compared to going to a coffee shop, and it can be a lot healthier to select your own ingredients.

Time Together

Time together is the best possible gift for the people you love, and you can include health within any budget.

Here are a few options.

• Take a cooking class or go to a cooking demonstration
• Go to a farmers’ market and sample the produce
• Make a healthy meal or dish to eat together or give to friends or neighbors
• Read menus and choose a restaurant where you can both enjoy a healthy meal without needing to shop, cook, or clean up afterward
• Take a walk and have coffee or tea together afterward
  

How Lark Can Help

If gifts are part of your holiday season, let them also support healthier eating. Lark can help you work towards your weight and health goals this holiday season by making small changes. Your Lark coach is available 24/7 for encouragement, nutrition and physical activity coaching, and habit tracking. Lark can help you make healthy choices and establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications.

Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!